Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-05-17
TEE LOCAL AWAKENING.


1t is proper to say that the results of enter
prise in Southern California have been brought
about by those who are here called village
boomers" \ big city sometimes gets into the
conditions of village. Within year the press
of Philadelphia has declared that city to be a
"clam," and their advice has rung all the
changes on Don't be clam"
So says the Alta of San Francisco, adj
dressing the fossilized and doubling about
town improvement and local booms. The
title men of spunk should invoke just now.
and for all time, with honor and credit is
that of Village boomer The RECORD
UNION with the Alta is willing to accept
the title. A city situated as is Sacra-
mento, either goes ahead or falls behind.
Sacramento has constantly advanced, but
now it is desirable she should take longer
strides. This city is environed by sec
ton that ought to be made the seat of a
thousand homes within the next three
years, and extend Sacramento practically
eastward for miles. But it will not be if
men of means, large and small, sit still
content to borrow and lend and pay and
receive interest, and finally when their
Golfers are full, to pack up and cart them
selves and their gains off to San Francisco
and other places.
What Sacramento needs to feel now is
discomfort with the present rate of local
progress, and desire to add to her broad
commerce the spirit Of local enterprise.
The policy that is to give her new import
ance is to be an aggressive one, and a
purely local one.
The city has splendid trade, and it is
rapidly extending. AS new lines of trans
portation open its commercial Importance
increases. The jobbers are feeling the in
fuence every day more forcibly. Sacra-
mento's growth has been steady and sound,
and secure in her seat she has not felt the
necessity for especial effort at home But
she now does in order that her advantages
may be better known, and her suburban
population increased tenfold, as it may
be without any greater effort than has been
made elsewhere.
of effort, and public spirit will break
down any possible obstacles, develop
strength, defy opposition and swell the
purse. Let US have a" city boomer" meet
ings that the boomers may take counsel
together and find out who are fossils, con-
tent to let we'll enough alone. The time
for that proverb has gone into the dead
past; the new gospel Of progress is well
enough is not enough, but better is" A
score of ways" present themselves to
promote the local growth and that of the
vicinity. Some of them ought to be put
upon their feet at once. There are money
greater prosperity, greater happiness and
more powerful city in them While all
the other cities of the State are inviting
and receiving new population and paving
the way fer more, building up suburbs and
peopling their vicinities with prosperous
homes, the Capital city cannot afford to
remain idle Talk is no motor, but
action begets strength and energy develops
means for the accomplishment of ends
Roads, water, small land tracts colonies
local cleanliness, local improvement, dis
semination of the truth concerning this
section-these are some of the things about
which TO concern ourselves.
At the International Convention, which
recently met in San Francisco, not few
delegates from the East, nearly all of whom
had visited Southern California, asked i" Is
Sacramento so bad place as they tell us {?
Is the snow off the ground with you as
early as March You do not mean to tell
us that you grow semi-tropical fruits in
your country; is it very cold there now"
and so on through a score of absurd ques-
tions. OF course these intelligent men
were ignorant Of the truth about Sacra-
mento and her tributary region, because
there are people who make it their bus
iness to teach falsely concerning this
section, and the best that is done here is
not tenth part of what should be done to
disseminate the truth and put falsehood to
fight. The best advertisement and refu-
tation we can have will be such as we make
by local effort and improvement
The idea has seized upon San Jose, and
the end is already partly realized; it has
affected Santa Cruz, and it there over
shadows all other topics; it has fastened
upon the towns of the San joaquin valley
and the dry bones have risen to walk
Stockton has been inoculated with it, and
her material advancement began with the
first step taken.
With fairer outlook and more sub
stantial basis for BOOM than any other
locality, we must stimulate the spirit that
is to make it real.
We need to colombo all the splendid
suburban region east and southeast and
northeast of the city and bring it within
easy distance by frequent and rapid COM
munication. But the preparation must be
made for it. New blood will not come
and do the work for u.s. The lands must
be prepared for the coming, the roads and
avenues laid out, the means of communi-
cation enlarged and the present facil-
titles for transportation increased in
ease and frequency. There must
be widespread dissemination of the
truth about our suburban region, a
determination to fill it with homes easily
reached from the city. The boom will
extend to the section across the American
river in time, and as far out from us as
/. Davisyille on the one hand and meet the
spirit of progress in Placer on the other.
The one thing to do now, and in which
all citizens should unite, is to quicl,enlocal
public spirit. promote the suburban settle
snentscheme, foster the ideao of local improve